Wednesday's garden and other bits and bobs.

Good morning, everyone.  It's another warm morning, the windows are open and the fan is on.  It's very quiet and peaceful right now and I realise yet again how much I love these early mornings.

I'm just in from meandering around the 'estate', dead-heading some flowers, picking out some side shoots, noting runner beans for picking and pulling a few weeds that dare to show their faces in the middle bed.  All very satisfying in a small way.

I also took a few photos.

First of all the 'new' tomatoes.  They are called Montello F1 and are a relatively new variety.  Dad bought a couple of packets of seeds very cheaply, started the plants off and gave me three.  The idea is to review them for the seed company.
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/tomato-seeds-montello-f1-bush-pid9355.html
I put them in pots as there was no room in the raised bed.
For a while I wasn't impressed.  They were thin and weedy and looked as if they were never going to come to much.  Dad found more or less the same so it wasn't poor gardening on my part.  Over the last month, however, they have really come on.  They're bush tomatoes (which does make them easier to look after) and now that they have started 'bushing' and flowering, I have hopes of a great harvest from them.

The other tomatoes continue to do well.  The sungolds are shooting up and out and they all have at least four trusses on them.  We now need some ripening to happen.
I only got one grafted tomato this year (the sungolds were plantlets from Dad) and I can't for the life of me remember the name.  It is an Italian plum and is looking good.

Finally, the runner beans.  The photos say it all!  Yum yum!  The self pollinating ones are more expensive but maybe it's worth it in terms of cropping.

I ended up spending all day in school yesterday and boy, was it hot!!!  M asked me to sort out the reading book boxes and add the new books to the boxes and to the record sheet on the 'pool' as well as re-numbering all the books.  I realised half way through the first box that this was going to take hours and hours.  After consultation with M, I focused on the first three levels which is what they will need at the start of next year, and managed to get then done and finished before the end of the school  day.  The others can wait until September and I now have something to be getting on with while the totally new to schoolchildren are settling in.

When I got home, Beth had sent me a link to a bookmark made with scraps of left over strips of fabric.  I took a look and had a go.  It was different to the one in the link, I used the idea and my own method and materials and, for a first go, it's not bad, I think.  It is stiffened with iron on interfacing and backed with a plain strip.  A bit wobbly and I did miss the rotary cutter.  I'm hoping the replacement blades turn up today.
I will make some more bookmarks and they can be sold cheaply on our next stall as they are quick and easy to make and use up bits and bobs.
What do you think?

I think a bit of fancy stitching would be good and really must explore the stitches the sewing machine can do.  There aren't many, it is not that kind of machine, but there are some.

And finally, I turned up the hem of the little dress I am making and got that stitched so the dress is now finished.  I want to make a little bag and a scrunchie to go with the dress and I shall make that this morning.

It may have been a very hot day yesterday but I still got a lot done!

Today I am at home.  I need to sort out the house this morning and I'm seeing some friends in the afternoon.
Today's food.
B:  oat bran galette with yogurt and fruit, melon
L:  fresh fruit salad with yogurt
D:  no idea yes.